The Center for the Study of Civil Society and Philanthropy in Israel held an international conference on Thursday, June 26th, 2014 at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, Mt. Scopus campus. The conference was supported by the Committee for Conferences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Gandyr Foundation, Ted Arison Foundation, Bronfman Family Foundation, Sheatufim- the Israeli Center for Civil Society and the JDC Institute for Leadership and Governance.
The conference discussed cross-sectoral partnerships in Israel and in a comparative perspective. The aim of the conference was to broaden the understanding of theoretical and empirical models of cross‐sector partnerships that have potential to contribute to the strengthening of civil society, citizens, and especially the recipients of services.
The conference ended with a meeting of experts on the same topic in which 14 Canadian and Israeli scholars participated, all of whom are studying various aspects of cross-sectoral partnerships. The workshop was held with the generous support of the Helbert Center for Canadian Studies and The Hebrew University, between June 23-25.
The plenary session summarized the experts meeting, presenting theoretical perspectives, current research, and implications for policy and practice. Participants included Prof. Hillel Schmid, Director of the Center for the Study of Civil Society and Philanthropy in Israel; Dr. Michal Almog-Bar, the School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University; Prof. Raymond Dart, Director and Associate Professor, Business Administration, Trent University, Peterborough; Ms. Michal Tzuk, the director of Employment Regulation & Senior Deputy Director General at Israeli Ministry of Economy and Ms. Shira Ruderman, Director of the Ruderman Family Foundation.
The keynote lecturer was Dr. Susan Phillips, Professor and Director, School of Public Policy & Administration, Carlton University, Ottawa: "Partnerships for Strengthening Civil Society: Rhetoric? Reality? Potential?"
The conference included two parallel sessions:
"Cross Sector Educational Initiatives: How They Promote Impact". Two cases from the field.
This session was held by Sheatufim, The Israel Center for Civil Society, and was chaired by Adv. Anat Cabili, Mediator and Facilitator of Collaborative Governance Processes, and Senior Roundtable Consultant for Sheatufim. Presenters included Ms. Inbar Hurvitz, Director, Social Impact Initiatives, Sheatufim; Mr. Miki Nevo, Senior VP Research and Development, Rashi Foundation; Ms. Gila Ben-Har, CEO, Center for Educational Technology (CET); Ms. Michal Oz-ari, Head of Inter-Sectorial Programs and Partnerships, The Pedagogical Administration, Ministry of Education and Dr. Wenjue Knutsen, assistant professor, school of business & school of policy studies Queen's University, Canada.
"Regional Clusters – An Innovative Model for Collaboration and Regional Development between Municipalities and Local Authorities"
This session was held by the JDC Institute for Leadership and Governance and was chaired by Mr. Guy Avrutzky, Director of Strategic R&D in the JDC Institute of Leadership and Governance. Presenters included Dr. Chemy Avnery (adv.), Head of Local Government Law Dept. Sapir College Law School, Israel; Ms. Nurit Tsur, Executive Director of the Eastern Galilee Regional Cluster; Dr. Yochanan Doron, Head of Education Department, Netivot Municipality; Mr. Asher Stern, Deputy Director General, Dimona Development Foundation and Dr. Agnes Meinhard, Associate Professor, Tenured Member of the Graduate Faculty Ryerson University, Toronto and Director, Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies, Canada.
There were 90 participated at the conference from various sectors: associations, foundations, philanthropists, NGOs, decision makers and government representatives, researchers, research students and the media. Click here for pictures from the conference.
The Center for the Study of Philanthropy in Israel is grateful to all of the sponsors, partners, keynote speakers, presenters and participants of the pre-conference and conference. We invite you to participate in future events.